TALKING TURKEY

Have you ever seen a worried turkey? According to Joe Hutto, you never will. And Joe should know. For over a year, the naturalist and wildlife artist raised sixteen orphaned wild turkeys as their adopted “mother.”* From the time they pecked their downy heads out of the shell to the day they ventured off on their own as fully-grown adult birds, Hutto spent every waking moment with these chicks in the Florida flatlands.

Observing his little brood, the naturalist was struck by how content the turkeys were. Days were filled with the thrill of the hunt for grasshoppers in the tall grasses, the excitement of exploring the swamps and trees of their surroundings, and the cheerful chatter with one another in chirps, squawks and trills. Even predatory snakes didn’t cause alarm. The turkeys simply showed the serpent who was boss, pecking at him tauntingly, then playfully jumping out of the way when he attempted to strike.

“As humans we have this peculiar predisposition to be always thinking ahead, and living a little bit in the future,” Hutto reflected. But these birds didn’t appear to be anxious about where their next meal would come from, or distressed if they got caught in an unexpected rain-shower. Every challenge was a welcome adventure, and every discovery a source of pure joy.

For the wild turkeys, Joe Hutto says, “the world is not better a half a mile through the woods. It’s not better an hour from now. It’s not better tomorrow. The wild turkeys reminded me to be present.”